The Association of the Holy Family, such as it came from the hands of Fr. Noailles, can be symbolised by a tree with multiple branches, like the tree of Jesse. This constitutes one of the most striking characteristics of the Holy Family and has been frequently commented on.

Fr. Noailles has himself explained the conditions in which his Association first came into being and continued to expand in successive stages. We have here a typically organic growth, similar to that of the human body, in which time was an important factor. We must, then, enter into the very path of this growth, looking at the matter from a strictly historical point of view.